Refrigerator car



July 7, 1935- A. cHRls'nANsoN ET Al. 2,047,133

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Dec. lO, 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet l looonuoololvmaoooloa uooumnlouooono A. CHRISTIANSON ET AL REFRIGERATORCAR July 7, 1936.

Filed Dec. lO, 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 7, 1936- A. cHRlsTlANsoN ETA1. 2,047,133

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Dec. l0, 1932. 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 @www A( gNC-VENT, ORS 4 @M Sbmsfmxm jid/i, ATTORNEYS July 7, 1936 A. cHRls'rlANsoNET A1.'

REFRIGERATOR CAR 6 Sheets-Shc-zerI 4 ZZZZZZZ Filed DeC. 10, 1932INVENTORS Patented July 7, 1936 PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATQ u.CAR

Andrew Christiansen and -llarry T. Anderson, Butler, Pa., assignors, bymesne assignments, to Pullman- Standard Car Manufacturing Company, acorporation of Delaware Application December 10, 1932, Serial No.646.693

14 Claims. This invention relates to railroad cars and more particularlyto refrigerator cars, such as are employed in the transportation ofdifferent grades of perishable commodities.

An object of this invention is the provision of a car that, may, asnearly as possible, be kept in a sanitary condition which is necessaryin the transportation of perishable commodities.

Where sh, oysters in bulk, and other perishable commodities, that have atendency to im-4 pregnate the atmosphere about them with characteristicodors, are transported in refrigerator cars, it is necessary tothoroughly cleanse the interior of the cars after delivery atdestination, in order to thoroughly deodorize the cars before loadingthem with other absorbing perishable commodities, butter and milk forexample.

It is the customary practice to employ live steam for deodorizing andcleansing cars of the type referred to above, but, in many cases, it isfound that seepageenters the joints in the floors,

between the walls and the floors, in the walls and ceilings which are,for all practical purposes, impossible to deodorize and thoroughlycleanse. Therefore, the seepage remains and accumulates from time totime so that cars become unsanitary and saturated with undesirable odorswhich are easily taken up or absorbed by numerous kinds of perishablefoods as is well known to those skilled in this art.

An object of this invention is therefore to provide an interior liningfor refrigerator cars that shall be free of seepage collecting joints,so that when the interior of a car so lined, is cleansed with live steamor other equivalent agencies, all foreign substances and odors may becompletely and thoroughly removed.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a refrigerator carhaving an all metal interior lining in which all joints in the floors,walls and ceilings shall be hermeticaliy sealed.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of improvedsanitary ice receptacles or bunkers for refrigerator cars.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved methodof constructing refrigerator cars and applying the insulation therefor,whereby efficient, serviceable, rugged cars may be obtained which may bekept in a sanitary condition with a minimum of expense.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be apparent and will, inpart, be obvious from the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which; g

Figure 1 is an end view of a refrigerator car (Cl. 10S-409) arranged andconstructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Flg. 2 is a partial view in section taken on line II-II of Fig. 1,showing the lcorner construction of the refrigerator car;

Fig; 3 is a view in vertical section showing the wall construction ofthe car above the side door thereof;

Fig. 3a is a fragmentary view in transverse section of the door sill andadjacent portions of 10 the floor;

Fig. 3b is a fragmentary view in horizontal section showing theconstruction employed in the sides of the doorway of the car;

Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section showing the 15 construction of theside wall of the car;

Fig. 5 is a view in section taken along line V-V of Fig. 3, showing thetop door framing and the adjacent car wall construction;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical 20 central sectional viewof the car roof;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in horizontal seci tion of the side carwalls taken on plane VII-VII of Fig. 4; l

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken 25 on line VIII-VIII ofFig. 7, showing the method of attaching the plates forming the carinterior lining and the car lining horizontal stiffening members andinsulation holding means;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view in transverse sec- 30 tion of the carshowing the construction of the underframe, side walls and floor;

Fig. 10 is a view of the door, in section, taken on line X-X of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view in vertical trans- 35 verse section of acar wall, roof and hatch associated with one of the ice compartments ofthe car;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary top plan view, partly in sectiomof a corner ofthe car (the roof being 40 removed) showing the construction andarrangement of parts;

Fig. 13 is a partial View in section of an ice bunker, one side wall anda part of the car end wall being shown in section;

Fig. 14 is a partial view in section of the car end wall and ice bunkershowing details of construction ofthe ice rack;

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic view, in horizontal section, of the interiorcar lining taken on line -like reference characters indicate likeparts.l

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, a refrigerator car I is shown having sidedoors 2 (see Fig. 15) and a pair of hatchways 3, in the car roof at eachend thereof (only one being shown), through which ice is delivered, inthe usual manner, to ice bunkers or compartments 4 (see Fig. 15)disposed at each end of the interior of the car.

Generally stated, the car includes the usual underframing on which thefloor and car body are built, the underframing including side and endsills. After the floor has been formed, the car body is constructedwhich includes side and end walls made up from steel plates fabricatedand riveted together and to the side and end sills, thereby forming acomplete outside Wall unit, similar to the usual steel box car. Theouter wall unit having been assembled, the insulation is applied to theinterior of the outside wall unit, there being means provided to securethe insulation in place and to provide means of support for the insidewall unit and for the interior metal car lining.

After the insulation has been applied to the interior of the outer wallunit, the roof and ceils ing, which are preferably fabricated andassembled as a separate unit, areA mounted on the car and secured toside and end plates attached to the top of the outside wall unit. 'I'hecar lining is preferably fabricated and assembled from steel plates. Alljoints between the lining plates, floor plates and ceiling plates arehermeticallly sealed either by welding, soldering, brazing or othermethods, welding being preferred. All joints being Welded to providesmooth tight joints, seepage and foreign particles cannot lodge therein.

-The interior of the car being lined with metal plates welded togetherso that all joints are hermetically sealed, the interior of the car maybe easily and conveniently cleansed, either by steam, hot water or othersuitable agencies, of undesirable odors and all foreign particles thatmay remain after a car has been unloaded.

In order to simplify the description of the car embodying the invention,the construction of each of the various units of the car such as thefloors, walls, roof and ice compartments will be taken up individually,although not necessarily in the order in which these units would bebuilt in practice, as the most eillcient order of fabrication is largelyone of judgment and practice rather than of invention.

To build a car such as illustrated, the car underframe is assembled. Theunderframe, illustrated more clearly in Fig. 9, comprises side sills 6,that run longitudinally of the car, and center sills 1, the usual crossbracing having been omitted in order to simplify the description and thedrawings. A plate 8 mounted on the center sills, carries Z-bars 9 at itsopposite longitudinal edges, that serve to support a floor base I0. Thefloor base, as shown, extends across the tops of the side sills, and isrigidly secured thereto and to the Z-bars by means of rivets orequivalent means.

The floor base may be made up from steel or metal plates corrugated asshown in Fig. 10, the corrugations being preferably of U-shape andrunning transversely of the car from one side sill to the other. The endsills I2 of the car, as shown in Fig. 1, comprise heavy angle barsmounted on and secured to the side sills 6 and the center plate 8.

The outer wall unit comprises a series of vertically disposed steelplates I 3, or plates of suitable metal, which form the exterior sideWalls, and a plurality of horizontal plates I4, Aforming the end walls,riveted at their lower ends to the side sills and end sills,respectively.

As shown in Fig. 7, the opposite longitudinal edges of every other plateare overlapped by the adjacent plates, thus forming lap' joints at the 5edges of the several plates. In order to rigidify and strengthen theoutside walls of the car, vertical stakes IB are disposed over theinside faces of the lap joints and riveted thereto, thus tying thestakes and the plates together. l0

The vertical stakes, as shown, are of substantially channel shape insection, the sides of the channels being flanged as at I8. One flange ofeach stake is placed on its accompanying lap joint so that a single rowof rivets will complete i5 the lap lioint and secure the stake to theouter wall. The opposite flange of each stake is also riveted to itsaccompanying wall plate so that at each lap joint two rows of rivets I1and I8 are visible from the exterior of the car as shown in 20 Figs. 1and 7. v

In order to rigidify and strengthen the end walls of the car, verticalwall stakes 20, similar to stakes I5 in shape, are riveted to the endwall plates I4. 25

Each of the stakes I5 and 20 is provided with a series of nuts 2i weldedto the web thereof to provide means for anchoring the structuralelements, to be hereinafter described in detail, employed for holdingthe insulation in place be- 30 tween the interior and exterior walls ofthe car.

As shown in Fig. 1, the end walls are constructed of two plates I4disposed one above the other with adjacent edges overlapping and rivetedtogether along the line of rivets 20. The 35 lower edges of plates I4areriveted to the end sills I2. The top edge of upper plate I4 is cut ona bias or slope from the sides to the center thereof, the bias beingequal to the slope or pitch of the roof. 40

In order to form the corners of the outside wall unit, the ends of theplates I4 forming the end walls of the car are flanged, as shown in Fig.2, to overlap the adjacent edges of the end plates on the side walls ofthe car. The corners of the 45 car may be rigidified and strengthened bymeans of vertically disposed corner stakes 22. The corner stakes may bemade from Z-bars so placed that one flange thereof is disposed over thecorner lap-joint 23 as shown in Fig. 2. The flange of 50 each Z-baroverlying each corner lap-joint and the overlapping edges of the platesI3 and I4 may be secured together by rivets thus completing the cornersof the outside walls. 'Ihe other flange of the Z-bar corner stake 22 isprovided 55 with a series of nuts 24 welded thereto for accommodatingmeans to be hereinafter described in detail, whereby the insulation andthe inside lining plates are secured in operative position.

The car herein illustrated may be provided with two similarlyconstructed side doors, but in order to simplify the description anddrawings the framing of one only of these doors will be illustrated anddescribed in detail. In Fig. 15. the door openings on each side of theinterior car lining are indicated.

In framing the side door openings of the car.

a relatively short narrow plate 25 is secured at its opposite ends tothe wall plates disposed on each side of the door opening (see Fig. 3)the 70 upper edge thereof being in line with the uppermost ends of theside wall plates. The lower edge of plate 25 has a channel member 26secured thereto that runs across the top of the door opening. A doorjamb 2'I is bolted to the inner 76 Y 8,047,188 upwardly extending nangeof the channel memare shaped as shown in Flg'J 1 and follow the ber 26.The door :lamb has a depending portion 26 which is raced with a casingmember 26 o! metal, of substantially Lshape in transverse'section,.thecasing member being secured to the wood member with nails 36 or othersuitable means. The depending portion 26 of the door jamb is offset withrespect to the upwardly extending flange of the channel member 26, thusforming a shoulder 3| which is faced with a metal 4casing member 32 ofsubstantially L-shape in section, which may be nailedin place as shown.The adjacent ilanges of casing members 23 and 32 are received in agroove 32 formed in the lamb member 21.

The bottom of the door opening may be framed as shown in Fig. 3a. Asillustrated. a threshold member 34 of wood is bolted to the floorbaseIII and side sill 6, the heads of the bolts being countersunk as shown.The inner edge of the threshold member has an upwardly extendingshoulder 35, the face of which is slightly below theV floor level ot thecar. The threshold member 34 may be cased in a preformed plate 36, aportion 31 of which forms the outer wall of the car immediately belowthe door opening. The inner edge of the plate may be ilanged upwardly,as shown at 38, against the shoulder portion 35 of the threshold member34.

A square stick 39 of wood is mounted on the plate 36 adjacent to theupwardly extending shoulder 35 of the threshold member so as to hold theflanged portion 36 ot plate 36 therebetween. The outer lower corner ofthe square stick 39 may be cased in an angle member 46 preferably ofnon-corrosive material such as zinc. As will be described hereinafter, ailoor plate of the car covers the square stick 36 so that all of thewooden members are totally enclosed in metal.

The framing of the door opening at the vertical sides thereof isdepicted in Fig. 3b, and comprises a vertical door post 4I (one on eachside of the door) of substantially L-shape in section, secured to a wallplate I3 by means of rivets. A door jamb member 42 of wood is secured tothe inner flange 43 of the door post by means of bolts, the ends ofwhich are countersunk as at 44. The door jamb member 42 has an offsetportion 45 that extends inwardlytowards the center of the door openingto provide a seat for the cardoor 2 when in closed position. The offsetportion 45 is enclosed in a casing 46 of substantially L-shape which maybe secured thereto with nails 41. The portion of the door jamb'memberbetween the casing member 46 and the door post 4| may be enclosed in astrip 48, of substantially channel shape in section preferably ofnon-corrosive material, such as zinc, which is nailed thereto as shown.The opposite side of the door is framed in the same manner, thereforethe description of one vertical side of the door opening serves for theother also.

When the side and end walls of the car have been erected as describedabove, roof supporting plates 49 may be secured to the top of the wallplates, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 11. The roof plates may compriseangle members or bars of somewhat L-shape having their depending ilangesriveted to the upper edges of Vthe car sidewall plates, as indicated inthe above mentioned gures. The outwardly extending ilanges 50 of theplates may be.` disposed at an angle equal to the pitch of the roof.

vThe roof angle plates 5I at the ends of the car slope o f the upperedges oi' plates I4.

The side and end walls having been assembled to complete the outsidewall unit, the insulation may now be applied. The form of insulation 5shown comprises two thicknesses or layers 52 and 63 of insulatingmaterial. The type of insulation employed may consist of suitableinsulating material sewed between strips of suitable paper. Suchinsulation may be supplied by the 10 lmanufacturer in rolls so thatstrips may be cut therefrom and iltted as required. As stated previouslyherein, a double thickness of such insulation is placed on the insidesurface of the side walls and secured in place by means of vertical 15wood stakes or cleats 54 which are bolted to the outside wall stakes I5.The bolts in the wood stakes are threaded into the nuts 2I which arewelded to the webs of the outside wall stakes I5. The ends of thesebolts may be countersunk as 20 indicated at 55 in Fig. 7. When the woodstakes are drawn up tightly it will be observed, that the insulation istightly compressed between the wood stakes and the outside wall stakes(see Figs. A 7 and 11). The insulation ilares outwardly at 25 each sideof the stakes as shown to form the desired thickness of insulation inthe space between them. As wiil be observed from Fig. 2, the insulationis carried around the corners and over the corner stakes 22, and is heldin place 30 at the corners by means of vertical wood stakes or cleats 56bolted to the corner stakes as shown. The bolts are threaded into nuts24 welded to the corner stake anges.

The ends of the strips of insulation disposed 3" along the tops of theside walls may be held in piace by means of horizontally positionedcleats 51 that lie over the tops of the vertical cleats or stakes 54.Cleats 51 may be bolted to the upper ends of the outside wall stakes I5and the corner stakes 22 in the same way that the vertical cleats 54 and56 are bolted thereto. In the same manner, the top edges of theinsulation strips disposed on the outside end walls may be `clamped inposition by cleats similar to cleats 51 which are bolted to the webs ofthe end wall stakes 22. Since there are no vertical outside wall stakesover the side door-opening U-shaped clips are riveted to the outsidewall plate 25. The clips may be provided with nuts into which the cleatholding bolts are threaded.

In Fig. k3, the method of applying the insulation to the plate 25disposed above the door opening, is shown. The two thicknesses ofinsulation are mounted in place and held in posi- 55 tion by means of ahorizontally extending wood cleat 6I which is bolted to a U-shaped clip62. Cleat 6I runs along the upper edge of the insulation, slightly belowthe roof line of the side wall. The lower edge of the insulation, thatis, the 60 ends of the strips of insulation disposed immediately abovethe upper door jamb 21 is held in place by a member 63 preferably ofwood which is nailed to the door jamb as shown.

As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the iloor comprises 65 a `plurality ofthicknesses or layers 65 of insulating material, preferably cork,disposed between stringers 66 and 66' of wood, that run longitudinallyofthe car floor. The stringers 66 running along the side walls of the carare provided 70 with vertical plates 61 which are bolted thereto asshown. The stringers 66 and the plates 61 attached thereto, are utilizedalso for holding the lower ends of the strips of insulation in place.Plates 61 also form a base to which the interior 75 lining plates may bewelded. The wood stringers may be bolted to the oor base, as shown, theends of the bolts being countersunk as at I3. The strlngers 66. asshown, are disposed between the z-bars 9 and the outer stringers 30 andare bolted to the iloor base as indicated.

Stringers 88' each have an angle bar l0 secured thereto, by means ofbolts 10, with one flange of each bar lying over the top face of eachstringer to provide a welding base for the car floor plates. Theinsulation and the stringers referred to above having been mounted inplace, the iloor plates of the car may be assembled.

The floor of the car comprises a plurality of longitudinal plates 1|',12, and 13, and a transverse plate P (see Figs. 15 and 16). The outerplates 1| and 13 may be flanged upwardly along the car side walls andwelded at predetermined points to plates 81.

The inner edges of iioor plates 1| and 13 are ilanged downwardly as at15. These ilanges, as shown, rest on the angle bars 89 and formshoulders on which the opposite edges of the center floor plate 12 rest.As shown the iianges 15 are so proportioned that when the center plateoccupies the position shown, the top surfaces of iloor plates lie insubstantially the same plane and provide a lap joint. The adjacent endsof plates 1I, 12, and 13 are ilanged downwardly also to accommodate theedges of transverse plate P.

The overlapped edges of plates (12, 1|), (12, 13), and (1|, 12, 13, andP) are welded together to form a sealed joint therebetween.

In order that plates P, 1|, 12, and 13 may be anchored to the angle bars09, holes are drilled through the lap joints thereof so that metal maybe welded into the same and thereby fuse the lates to the angle bars asindicated at 10 (see Fig. 9). Thus by welding the overlapped edges ofthe floor plates together, and to the angle bars 69, a strong rigidsmooth oor is obtained.

As shown in Fig. 3a, the transverse floor plate P is ilanged downwardlyat the car door so as to enclose the square stick 30 and also to form aseat for a sliding door (not shown). The door may be of the typedisclosed in United States Batent No. 1,959,705, dated May 22, 1934.

In Fig. 14, the method of forming the iloor at the ends of the car wherethe ice bunkers are disposed, is illustrated. The iloor space occupiedby each bunker is covered with a plate 11 that runs transversely of thecar, the ends and sides thereof being ilanged` upwardly as at 18 and 19.

The ends of floor plates 1|, 12, and 13, as shown in Figs. 1'5 and 16,are flanged upwardly into abutting relation with ilanges 18 at the frontwall of the ice bunker compartments and welded thereto to form a sealedjoint.

Fig. 14 also shows the end sill I2 and a transverse wood member which isbolted to the side sill and plate 8 mounted on the center sills. 'I'heZ-bars 9 and the iloor base I0 are also shown. Member 80 is of somewhatL-shape in section whereas the stringers 68 running longitudinally ofthe car are somewhat square. A backing plate 8| is bolted to the woodmember 80 and serves as a base on which to weld the ice bunker iloorplate and the end wall lining plates.

The car iloor plates and the wall insulation having been applied asdescribed above, the side and end wall lining plates may be assembled.Figs. 15 and 16 show the general arrangement of the interior wall andceiling lining of the car. These figures also show the general locationof adjacent edges.

the lee bunkers or compartments and the arrangement of the interiorlining therefor.

The interior side walls of the ice bunkers, that is, the lining walls,are formed from metal plates 82, 83, and Il, the ends of which may beflanged 5 inwardly as at and curved as at 88 to form the corners ofcompartments l. 'I'hese plates are disposed on the side walls one abovethe other with the lower edge of each plate flanged outwardly andoverlapping the top edge of an adjacent plate as shown. 'I'he lowermostplates 82 overlap the upwardly extending ilanges 18 of the ice bunkeriloor plates.

The lining at the ends of the ice compartments or bunkers may be formedfrom plates 08, 89, l5 and 80 that run transversely of the car as shown.The ends of plates 88, 88, and 90 are overlapped by the curved ends 86of the side Wall plates. The adjacent horizontal edges of the end walllining plates are overlapped and welded together 20 as at 9| so' thatthe inside surface is, for all practical purposes, smooth and unbroken.The overlapped edges of the wall plates and the floor plates are alsowelded together to form hermetically sealed joints 82.

The lining covering the sidewalls between the ice bunkers 4 and on eachside of doorways 2 is formed from plates 92, 93, and 94 disposed oneabove the other in overlapping relation at the The plates runlongitudinally 30 of the car as shown in Figs. 15 and 16. The ends ofthese plates may be flanged inwardly as at 95 to abut the inwardlyextending flanges 85 of the plates forming the side wall lining of theice bunkers.' 'Ihese abutting ilanges are welded 35 to form hermeticallysealed joints therebetween.

The casing members 46 as shown overlap the ends of the platesterminating at the doorways and are welded thereto to provide sealedjoints 99.

The overlapping edges of the lining plates may 40 be welded togetheralso in the manner indicated in Fig. 4.

The lining for the ceiling thereof may be fabricated from a series ofmetal plates |00 that run transversely of the car, the adjacent edgesbeing 45 overlapped and oiIset as shown at |0| in Fig. 16 and weldedtogether. The ceiling linings for the ice bunker compartments may besimilarly fashioned from plates |02. The ends and sides of plates |02may be flanged downwardly so as to 50 be overlapped by the top edges ofthe upper side wall lining plates. The side wall plates and the ceilingplates are welded together at their overlapped edges so as to providesealed joints therebetween. The adjacent edges of the plates |00 55 and|02 meeting at |04, that is. at the front walls of the ice bunkercompartments may be flanged downwardly and welded together, therebyproviding a continuous flange at the front wall of the ice bunkercompartments to which the framework '60 for the front walls of the icebunker compartments may be anchored.

In order that the inside lining wall plates may be held rigidly andilrmly in place, the vertical wood stakes or cleats 5I may each beprovided 65 with an angle bar |05 having one flange thereof bolted alongthe vertical side of said stakes, as shown in Fig. 7. One leg of eachangle runs parallel to the interior lining plates and forms a base towhich the lining plates may be welded. As 70 shown in Fig. 7, the platesare drilled at predetermined points |08 along the ilange |01 of eachangle bar, and into these openings welding material is deposited to weldthe plates to the angles.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 8 for example, horizon- 75 asbestos, may beglued or otherwise attached t0 the inside face of the lining plates andto the horizontal stiffening members |08.

As is apparent from Fig. 7, the horizontal stiffe'ning members aredisposed between the vertical wood stakes or cleats 54 and the verticalside wall stakes I5. Being so positioned the insulation is -forcedagainst the outer wall as shown. The insulation being held in place bothin a vertical and horizontal direction, shifting thereof is prevented,so that even after the car has been in service for a considerable periodof time the car will be uniformly insulated at all points.

After the interiorl wall lining plates and floor plates have beeninstalled, the roof and ceiling may be fabricated and assembled to beplaced on the car as a unit.

To construct the roof, the framework is fabricated and assembled so thatthe roof plates. insulation and ceiling may be built thereon. Theframework comprises side plates ||2 and rafters ||3, the ends of whichare riveted to the roof side plates as shown in Fig. 11. The shape ofthe roof side plates, in section, is similar to a Z-bar section, andincludes a ange I4 adapted to seat on the flanges 50 of roof plates 49,carried by the side wall and an inwardly extending downwardly slopingflange I5 to which the rafters I I3 are secured.

The shape of rafters I3 is apparent by inspection of Fig. 6, each rafterbeing substantially of U-shape in transverse section with the sidesthereof flanged outwardly as at I1 and I8. The roof plates |00 and |02(see Fig. 16) are riveted to the webs of the rafters. As illustrated inFig. 6, the flanges IIB of the rafters are provided with a series ofnuts |20 welded thereto for the reception of bolts |2|, the purpose ofwhich will be described hereinafter.

When the rafters and side plates have been assembled, the exterior roofplates |22 may be assembled and riveted to the rafters. The edges of theroof plates overlap at the center lines of each rafter as shown in Fig.6, and are held in place by a row of rivets |23 that pass through theoverlapping plate edges and the webs of the rafters. At each end of theroof, and on each sidethereof, the openings for hatchways 3 are cut inthe end roof plates (see Fig. 11). Hatchway framing is built aroundthese openings to take the covers |24 and the hatchway plugs |25. Asshown in Fig. 11, the openings in the roof plates are framed in woodmembers |26, the inner and outer edges of which are cut on a bias asshown. A second hatchway frame of wood is disposed above the lower frameand comprises wood members |21. Wood frame members |21 are carried by anupwardly and outwardly diverging metal casing |28, being secured theretowith screws |29. The lower end of the casing is attached to thelowerframe members with screws |30.

The upper frame is provided-with a plurality of bolts I3 the nuts |32 ofwhich are flush with the upper face ofthe frame as shown. An exteriorhousing |33 of sheet metal is formed around' the upper and lower framesand riveted to the roof at |34 and welded thereto at |35. The upper endof casing |33 is flanged over the upper faces of upper frame members|21, and welded to the nuts 5 |32 of bolts |3I, so as to hold the frameand the casing rigidly together. The opening in the upper frame leadinginto the ice compartments or bunkers is framed or housed in a casing |31which has an outwardly extending peripheral flange |38 l0 welded to theupper end of casing |33.

The opening through the roof proper is formed with a sleeve |39 ofmetal, the upper edge of which is anged outwardly at |40 and welded tothe casing |28. The lower marginal edge of the sleeve is flangedoutwardly at |4| to form a base on which the ceiling lining plates maybe welded.

By constructing the hatchways as described above, the hatchway frameworkis totally enclosed in metal having weather proof joints, and, further,the exterior housings therefor are rigidly secured to the roof, therebyproviding a rigid hatchway assembly requiring little or no attention,once it has been installed.

In order to tightly seal the hatchway after the ice bunkers have beencharged with ice, the stopper |25 is provided. The stopper, as shown,comprises a frame |42 of wood having insulation |43 therein and anexterior peripheral rim |44 of yieldable material. The yieldablematerial may be disposed in a sleeve |45 of pliable material such asheavy duck or canvas. The bottom of the stopper is covered with a metalplate |46 secured to the wood framework. By inserting the stopper intothe hatchway as shown in Fig. 11, the yieldable rim will seat tightly onthe walls of the outwardly converging frame |28 and form an eilcientseal to prevent the influx of warm air to the ice bunkers from theatmosphere. The top of the hatchway may be closed with the removablecover |24 thatmay comprise a body portion of wood, covered over its topsurface with a metal plate having its sides flanged so asto overlap thetop of the hatchway.

When the roof plates |0| and 02 have been 45 mounted in place and thehatchway framework built as described above, the insulation may beapplied. The insulation consists of two or more layers of material suchas employed for insulating the side and end walls. The insulation ishdldeinf place by means of cleats or stringers '|49 that extendtransversely of the rafters H3, as shown in Fig. 11, for example, andwhich are held in position by bolts |50 threaded into nuts |20 55 weldedto the flanges of the rafters n In order to provide a means for holdingthe ceiling plates |0| and |02 in place, cleats |49 may be provided withangle bars |5| which are bolted thereto. The angle bars run transverselyof the rafters and form a base on which the ceiling plates nay bewelded. In order to weld the plates to the angle bars, the plates aredrilled at predetermined points and welding material placed therein tofill the holes and, at the same time, weld the plates to the angle bars.In order to prevent the insulation from being heated to injurioustemperatures in the process of welding the plates to the angle bars,strips |52 of heat insulating material, such as asbestos, may be gluedthereto, thereby protecting the insulation from the heat developedduring the welding operation.

As shown in Fig. 11, the ends of the ceiling plates are curveddownwardly so as to overlap the top edges oi the wall lining plates, theoverlapped joints being welded throughout their entire lengths so as toheremetically seal the same. As shown in Fig. 16, the tops of the endwall plates are overlapped by the edges of the ceiling plates as at |54,the overlapped joints being welded throughout their entire length toprovide hermetically sealed joints therebetween.

When the roof has been completed, it is assembled as a unit on the car,the roof plates and thetop wall plates being riveted together as at |34(see Fig. 1l). When the roof is in place as shown, the roof insulationand the wall insulation,` at the juncture between the ceiling plates andthe wall plates, are compacted together to thereby fully insulate thecar at the roof line.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 12, the ends of roof plates 49 and 5| areriveted to a corner bracket |51. The roof plates |22 are also riveted toplates 49, 5| and bracket |51, thereby tying the end and side walls andthe roof rigidly and firmly together at the corners.

After the roof has been mounted in place and all joints between theceiling plates and the wall plates welded together, the ice bunkers orcompartments may be framed and built into the car. The construction ofthe ice bunkers or compartments is illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14.- Asshown in Figs. 13 and 14, the ice bunkers or compartments are providedwith a plurality of vertical stakes |58 of substantially U-shape insection having outwardly extending anges |59 which are welded to thelining plates of the compartments. These stakes extend from the floor tothe ceiling thereof and carry horizontal bars |60 welded thereto. Thebars and the stakes act as spacers for the ice cubes or blocks which areplaced in the compartments, and prevent the same from coming into directcontact with the lining walls thereof.

The front walls of the ice compartments each comprise a frame of angleiron members |62, the flanges of which are welded to the ceiling andwall plates and to the flanges formed by the juncture of the ceilingplates and wall plates, as shown in Fig. 15 for example. The front wallframework includes also a plurality of vertically disposed I-beams |63to which the front wall panels |64 and the doors |65 are secured. Themain front wall panels should terminate short of the top and bottom ofthe ice compartments so as to provide an opening |66 at the bottom and asimilar opening at the top (not shown) that extend across the icecompartment from side wall to side wall to provide for circulation ofair through the bunkers. 'Ihese openings may be closed with screens |68mounted on the framework as illustrated in the drawings.

Two doors |65 are provided for each ice compartment, only one beingshown. The bottom edge of the door extends horizontally while the upperedge of the door slopes upwardly in accordance with the slope of theroof. By providing doors, as shown, access may be had to the interior ofthe ice compartments so that they may be thoroughly cleansed anddeodorized with live steam, for example, or equivalent agencies.

'I'he top and bottom of the ice compartment front walls being open asshown, free circulation of air may be had. The warm air enters the icecompartment through the upper screen and the cold air flows outwardlytherefrom through the bottom screen into the refrigerator load storagecompartment.

nel bars adjacent to the end walls of the car are provided with hinges|13 mounted on rods |14 secured to the stakes |58. The front ends of theracks are supported on brackets |15 which are secured to the verticalI-beams |63. When the racks are in the horizontal position shown in Fig.14, a substantial space is provided between the bottom of the rack andthe oor of the ice compartm'ent, thereby permitting free circulation ofair therethrough and also providing drip pans P therebelow.

As shown in Fig. 14, the front wall panels of the ice compartments areprovided with horizontal spacer bars |11 welded to the I-beams so as toprevent direct contact between the ice and the plates. Also, in order toprotect the doors from the ice and at the same time making it possibleto open the doors when the ice compartments are full, spacer bars |18are provided which are removably mounted in clips |19 welded to the I-beams. These bars may be so spaced that the smaller pieces of ice willnot pass between them.

Since all joints in the ice compartment are welded and since the iceracks are hinged, as shown, workmen may enter through the doors andthoroughly deodorize and cleanse the same of foreign particles that mayaccumulate. Since there are no open joints into which seepage maycollect, the cleansing operations will not result in furtheraccumulations.

Having shown and described a preferred form of refrigerator car,arranged and constructed in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention, it will be appreciated and understood by those skilled inthis art that various modifications and changes may be made withoutdeparting from either lthe spirit or the scope of the invention. It isdesired, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed on theinvention as are'imposed by the prior art and the appended claims.

What We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe having side and end wallscarried thereby, vertical stakes secured to said walls on the insidesurface thereof, insulation covering the interior surface of said walls,means coacting with said stakes to hold the insulation in place, metalplates covering said insulation and forming the interior walls of thecar, said plates being welded at their adjacent edges to provide sealedjoints therebetween, and means for anchoring said metal plates to theinsulation holding means.

2. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe having side and end wallscarried thereby, vertical stakes secured to said walls on the insidesurface thereof, insulation covering the inside surface of said walls,vertical cleats disposed on the inside face of said insulation in linewith said stakes. means securing said vertical cleats to said stakes, awelding base on each of said cleats, and an interior lining wall forsaid car comprising metal plates having welded overlapping edges, one ofsaid plates being welded to said welding bases.

3. A corner structure for refrigerator cars comprising verticallydisposed side wall plates, end

plates disposed one above the other transversely 75 of the car to forman outside end wall, said end plates having their ends flanged forwardlyto form a corner, said flanged ends being shaped to overlap the adjacentend of a side wall plate to form a lap joint, a stake disposed on saidlap joint on the inside face thereof, means securing said stake andoverlapped plates together, said stake having a flange disposed inwardlyof said end and side wall plates in spaced relation thereto, insulationcovering the interior surface of said wall plates, and a cleat securedto said stake to clamp the insulation therebetween.

4. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe having side and end wallscarried thereby, Vertical stakes secured to said walls on the insidesurface thereof, insulation covering the inside surface of said walls,means coacting with said stakes to hold the insulation in place, metalplates covering said insulation and forming the inside walls of the car,said plates having their adjacent edges welded to provide sealed jointstherebetween, means carried by said metal plates and extending betweensaid stakes for holding the insulation therebetween in place, and meansfor securing the inside wall plates in fixed position with respect tothe lining and the outside car walls.

5. A refrigerator car comprising an underfram'e having side and endwalls carried thereby, vertical stakes secured to said walls on theinside surface thereof, insulation covering said stakes and the insidesurface of said walls, means coacting with said stakes to hold theinsulation in place on said walls, angle bars carried by said coastingmeans, metal plates covering said insulation and angle bars and formingthe interior walls of the car, said plates being welded at theiradjacent edges to provide sealed joints therebetween, means anchoringsaid, plates to the angle bars, and means carried by said metal platesand extending between said stakes for holding the insulationtherebetween in place.

6. A refrigerator car comprising an underframe having side and end wallscarried thereby, vertical stakes secured to said walls on the insidesurface thereof, insulation covering the inside surface of said walls,vertical cleats disposed on the inside face of said insulation andsuperposed on said stakes, means securing said vertical cleats to saidstakes, a welding base on some of said cleats, an inside lining wall forsaid car comprising metal plates having their adjacent edges overlappedand welded to each other, one of said plates being welded to saidwelding bases and to each other at the overlapped edges. and horizontalstiiiening members carried by said plates and arranged to extend betweensaid stakes. said stiifening members having flanges disposed to clampthe insulation located between the stakes between said members and saidoutside wall plates. l

7. A refrigerator car having cular walls and a roof fabricated frommetal plates-g an inner hermetically sealed lining offf metal coveringthe floor, walls and ceiling of the car, insulation between said wallsand inner lining. and means mounted on said outer walls for securingsaid insulation and inner lining in place.

8. A refrigerator car comprising outer walls and a roof fabricated frommetal plates, an inner hermetically sealed lining made up from metalplates covering the walls, roof and floor of the car, means foranchoring the lining plates to the walls, roof and floor, insulationbetween said walls, roof and inner lining, and means securing theinsulation to said outer walls and roof.

9. A refrigerator car floor comprising a floor l0 tween the stringers,welding bases on said string- 20 ers, and metal plates covering saidinsulation and stringers, said plates being welded to each other attheir adjacent edges and to said welding bases.

11. A refrigerator car floor comprising a floor base, heat insulatingspacers mounted on said 25 base, welding bases on said spacers,insulating material on the floor base between the spacers, metal floorplates covering said insulation and spacers, said iioor plates beingwelded to said welding bases. y 30 l2. A refrigerator car havingunderframing including side sills and center sills, outside wallssecured to said side sills, insulation attached to said walls on theinside surface thereof, a oor base mounted on said sills, cleats carriedby said ,35

base along said walls to hold-the insulation at the bottom of the wallsin place, metal plates secured to said cleats, insulating materialcovering said floor base, and metal floor plates covering saidinsulation and cleats, the edges of said plates 40 being flangedupwardly into contact with said metal plates and welded thereto.

13. A refrigerator car having an interior lining .composed of metalplates extending longitudinally of the car, said plates being disposed4.5

one above the other and having their adjoining edges welded together toform sealed joints therebetween, said plates on opposite sides 'of thecar at predetermined distances from the ends thereof being flangedoutwardly from the roof to the 5 floor, framework securedto saidflanges, walls constructed on said framework to provide ice bunkers ateach end of the car, and doors in said walls to provide access to theinterior of said bunkers. 55

i4. A refrigerator car having exterior walls made up from metal plates,roof supporting plates of angle-shape in section, secured to the tops ofsaid walls. and a roof unit mounted on said supporting plates. said unitcomprising nde c plates extending longitudinally of said car. rafterssecured to said side plates, insulation carried by said rafters, andceiling plates supported from said rafters, said side plates'beingdisposed to seat on the roof supporting plates, and means to secure theside plates to the roof supporting plates. v

ANDREW CHRISTIANSON.

HARRY T. ANDERSQN.

